Songkran mayhem hits new low with April 9 start
It seems to start earlier every year.
Pattaya’s water wars, better known as Songkran, traditionally began in earnest on April 13, running non-stop until the final offensive on the area’s official “wan lai” day, April 19. But each year, the water guns seem to come out earlier.
National Songkran began on April 13; Pattaya’s official “Wan Lai” was yesterday, April 19. But with the water mayhem in Pattaya beginning as early as April 9 this year, it’s been 10 days since people here who need to travel by public transportation have been able to arrive at their destination dry.
This year, foreigners and bar workers began drenching themselves and unsuspecting passersby on April 9, marking a new low for traditionalists and residents who have to go shopping, conduct business or other normal activities that require dry clothes.
As recently as 2006, you could pretty much set your watch that Songkran would begin on the 13th. By 2008, it had slipped to the 11th.
It’s getting earlier every year when people just trying to get to work or go shopping with dry clothes are forced to face the indignity of hooligans not knowing the definition of the word “no”.
One factor behind the early splashing was the weather, which has been hot and humid since March and hit temperatures of 36 degrees just before Thai New Year week began.
The anarchy is done for another year, but city officials urged those who live in Pattaya or plan to come here for next year’s aquatic showdown to remember that most people out-and-about before April 13 do not expect to get wet when they go shopping or out to dinner.
